2019 November - Pro Football Rumors

Ravens C Matt Skura Out For Season

November 26th, 2019 at 2:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

The knee injury that required Matt Skura to be carted off the Los Angeles Coliseum field Monday night will force a key adjustment for the surging Ravens. Baltimore’s starting center will miss the rest of the season, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. He will undergo surgery to repair his right knee.

Given the Ravens’ snapping reins after Ryan Jensen defected to the Buccaneers in 2018, Skura has not missed a start since changing positions last year. The Duke product began his career in 2017 as Baltimore’s right guard starter. Rookie UDFA Patrick Mekari replaced Skura during the Ravens’ 45-6 win.

Not only had Skura not missed a game since taking over for Jensen, he had not missed a snap. The 2016 UDFA had played all 1,889 snaps over the past two seasons, doing so despite the Ravens taking members of their starting offense out during a few fourth quarters this year. Pro Football Focus graded the ex-Blue Devil as this season’s No. 12 overall center. Skura is set for restricted free agency in March.

Baltimore’s offensive line has helped Lamar Jackson become the MVP frontrunner, ranking fourth in Football Outsiders’ adjusted line yards metric. The Ravens’ unorthodox offense leads the league in rushing by a staggering 65 yards. While the Ravens continued to gash the Rams without Skura, this setback will surely be a significant adjustment for the league’s hottest team.

Eagles Designate Cre’von LeBlanc For Return

November 26th, 2019 at 1:49pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Eagles are getting another boost in their secondary. Philly is designating cornerback Cre’von LeBlanc to return from injured reserve, the team announced.

LeBlanc can now begin practicing with the team, and the Eagles have three weeks to activate him to the 53-man roster. The Eagles’ secondary was in a dire situation earlier this year, with cornerbacks dropping like flies for a while. Corners Avonte Maddox, Ronald Darby, and Jalen Mills have all returned to the lineup in recent weeks, and Philadelphia’s pass-defense has unsurprisingly gotten a lot better.

LeBlanc originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent back in 2016, and he started nine games as a rookie with Chicago. After a short stint in Detroit he latched on with the Eagles for the second half of last season, and ended up starting four regular season games, as well as their playoff loss to the Saints.

The FAU product suffered a foot injury in training camp, but the Eagles thought highly enough of him to carry him through to the initial active roster so they could potentially bring him back. They also thought highly enough of him to give him a one-year extension at the beginning of the season. LeBlanc was the first player Philly designated for return, meaning they can still bring back one more.

Jaguars To Workout DeShawn Shead

November 26th, 2019 at 12:36pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Jaguars don’t look like they’re headed to the playoffs, but they’re still sniffing around the veteran free agent market for help. The team is brining in defensive back DeShawn Shead for a workout today, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Shead came into the league as an undrafted free agent with the Seahawks back in 2012, and he had some real success in Seattle. He ended up spending six seasons with the team, and started 21 games between 2015 and 2016. A torn ACL in the playoffs then derailed his career, and he missed all but two games in 2017. Released after the season, he latched on with Detroit. He then came back home and re-signed with the Seahawks this Summer, but was released at final cuts. He had been playing safety instead of cornerback in an attempt to make the team.

He hasn’t played any football yet this season, but has been making the rounds on the workout circuit. He auditioned for the Lions back in October, and for the Raiders just a couple of weeks ago. There aren’t any major injuries in Jacksonville’s secondary, but their defense has struggled a bit overall. In their most recent loss to the Titans, they gave up a whopping 42 points.

A Portland State alum, Shead won Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seahawks. He turned 30 back in June, and teams won’t be beating down his door this offseason. For his career, he has two interceptions and 24 passes defended in 66 games and 23 starts.

Browns Cut Devaroe Lawrence

November 26th, 2019 at 11:56am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns have released Devaroe Lawrence, per a club announcement. The release of Lawrence will open up a spot for fellow defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, who is returning from suspension.

Cutting Lawrence wasn’t necessarily an easy call for the Browns. Prior to his release, Lawrence appeared in all eleven games for Cleveland while appearing in 30% of the team’s snaps.

Per league rules, he’ll hit the waiver wire as a post-trade deadline cut. The league’s 31 other teams will have a 24 hour window to claim him and it’s possible that he could get picked up. Lawrence would only cost the prorated portion of his $570K salary for 2019 and is slated to make just $660K next year.

Lawrence, 27, has eight tackles and one fumble recovery to his credit this year.

Steelers Bench QB Mason Rudolph

November 26th, 2019 at 11:51am CST by Zachary Links

It’s now official, per an announcement from head coach Mike Tomlin. The Steelers will start quarterback Devlin Hodges this week against the Browns, sending Mason Rudolph to the bench.

Rudolph completed just 8 of 16 passes for 65 yards and a red zone interception before being yanked against the Bengals. After Hodges entered in the third quarter, he finished out 5-of-11 for 118 yards and a touchdown in a comeback win.

Tomlin was non-committal when asked about a potential shakeup after Sunday’s game, but this was the expected move. Hodges is not a world-beater, nor does he profile as the heir apparent to Ben Roethlisberger, but he might be the team’s better option as they push for the playoffs.

At 6-5, the Steelers have a 27% chance of making the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight. In the next three weeks, they’ll see the Browns, Cardinals, and Bills.

Vikings Waive Josh Doctson

November 26th, 2019 at 10:08am CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings have waived Josh Doctson, according to a team press release. To take his place on the roster, the club promoted linebacker Cameron Smith from the practice squad.

Doctson, 26, hasn’t lived up to his 2016 first-round draft billing. He effectively lost his rookie season to injury and didn’t show much in his subsequent seasons with the Redskins. The Vikings gave him a shot this year, but he leaves Minnesota without recording a single reception.

It’s bad news for Doctson, but potentially excellent news when it comes to Adam Thielen‘s recovery. Thielen has been sidelined by a hamstring injury, but his return may be just around the corner. Unfortunately, the release of Doctson will not foreshadow the return of Chad Beebe. The wide receiver was nearing his potential return from injured reserve, but this week’s ankle surgery means that he will not be able to play again in 2019.

The Vikings are 8-3 following back-to-back wins over the Broncos and Cowboys. Next up – a Monday night showdown against the Seahawks.

Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones On Jason Garrett’s Job Security

November 26th, 2019 at 9:11am CST by Zachary Links

For most of the season, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has stood behind head coach Jason Garrett. That’s not necessarily the case today, however, following a 13-9 loss to the Patriots.

On Tuesday morning, Jones told 105.3 The Fan that he is beyond “disappointed” with the club at this moment. Furthermore, he indicated that Garrett’s job is on the line, though he said that there would not be an in-season change.

“Disappointed is not the word. There’s no question that we were given an opportunity, there were things we could have taken advantage of,” Jones said.

Jones lit up Garrett after Sunday’s game and doesn’t seem to have cooled down much in the last 48 hours. Meanwhile, Garrett has five games left to restore the confidence of his boss.

With a 6-5 record, the Cowboys are atop the NFC East, with an edge over the second place Eagles (5-6). According to FiveThirtyEight, the Cowboys have a 65% shot of reaching the playoffs.

Garrett and the Cowboys will finish out the regular season against the Bills, Bears, Rams, Eagles, and Redskins.

Download The Trade Rumors App Today!

November 26th, 2019 at 8:55am CST by Zachary Links

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Extra Points: Colts, Dolphins, JPP, Broncos

November 25th, 2019 at 9:48pm CST by Ben Levine

The Colts are expecting Devin Funchess to return soon, but head coach Frank Reich didn’t want to say anything definitive when talking with reporters on Monday.

“Yeah, we’re gonna monitor him as we go,” Reich said (via Andrew Walker of the team’s website). “You know, we’ve already talked about his injury a bunch; I mean we’ve gotta make sure that thing’s 100 percent healed, so we’ll monitor it this week and see how it goes.”

Reich did note that wideout T.Y. Hilton didn’t suffer a setback with his calf injury during Thursday’s night loss to the Texans, and he also revealed that receiver Parris Campbell could return this week from a fractured hand. Running back Marlon Mack won’t play this weekend against the Titans, according to the head coach.

Let’s check out some more notes from around the NFL…

The Dolphins will likely be on the hunt for wide receiver help, according to ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe (via Twitter). Jakeem Grant (ankle) and Albert Wilson (rib) both suffered injuries during Sunday’s loss to the Browns, leaving the team with only two healthy receivers in DeVante Parker and Allen Hurns. Head coach Brian Flores noted that he’s uncertain if Grant or Wilson would end up missing the rest of the season due to their injuries (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald).
Buccaneers linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul played 76-percent of his team’s defensive snaps this weekend, earning him another $600K. As Greg Auman of The Athletic tweets, the veteran has already earned $3MM in bonuses in five games, and he could earn another $3MM through his team’s final five games. Pierre-Paul has a $3MM base salary this season.
Take this for what it’s worth, but Vic Fangio told reporters that Broncos quarterback Drew Lock could “possibly” be on the roster this Sunday and could “possibly” start vs. the Chargers (via Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post on Twitter). The second-round rookie has been on the IR since September, but he was designated to return earlier this month.
Former NFL running back Karlos Williams has signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, the team announced on Twitter. Williams ran for 517 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie, but he was later slapped with three separate suspensions. The 26-year-old was reinstated from his indefinite suspension last February, and he’s finally found his next gig.

Colts Sign TE Matt Lengel

November 25th, 2019 at 9:11pm CST by Ben Levine

The Colts aren’t finished revamping their tight end corps. After placing Eric Ebron on injured reserve and adding Ross Travis, the Colts have also signed tight end Matt Lengel, reports Mike Chappell CBS4 Sports in Indy (via Twitter).

The 2015 undrafted free agent out of Eastern Kentucky has bounced around the NFL a bit, spending time with five organizations (not including two stints with the Bengals). Lengel caught two passes for 22 yards and one touchdown during the Patriots’ Super-Bowl-winning 2016 campaign, and he had another three receptions for 17 yards and one score in 11 games (two starts) with the Bengals last season.

Indy placed Ebron on the injured reserve early today after learning that the tight end would need surgery on both of his ankles. The Colts initially brought in Travis, who played four games for the organization in 2017, to replace the veteran. An ACL wiped out Travis’s entire 2018 season, meaning the 26-year-old hasn’t seen the field in more than a year.

The Colts’ new additions will join a depth chart that also features Jack Doyle and Mo Alie-Cox. Indy is also hopeful that they’ll have T.Y. Hilton and Devin Funchess in the lineup against the Titans this weekend.